Sunday, January 31, 2010

Some may think I'm crazy, but I love a good ol' fashioned snowstorm like yesterday's. We have at least a foot of new, beautiful fresh powder on our back deck. It looks like something out of...New Hampshire...or Maine....or Vermont. I wish I still had cross-country skis.

Of course, the snow makes it a little difficult to ride outside. Luckily, Rick and I have a room over the garage where we can set-up our bikes on trainers and peddle away to Coach Troy. I'm actually sore from yesterday's session. (Coach Troy - you are an evil genius). After the workout, I had about 3 hours of work-related stuff to do on the computer. Luckily, I finished in time for a fireside game of backgammon and a glass of wine. Don't we sound so very civilized? (Well...I might've called it a "stupid game" after Rick crushed me).

Today was spent shoveling snow while watching my dog run around in it like a wild beast. I'm also in the middle of making cajun red beans and rice (with homemade rolls, too). I love it when I have time to cook a real meal.

A special thanks to Frances M and Aimee H for donating to my fundraising efforts. I appreciate it so much!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Here's the thing - I have friends pat me on the back for volunteering for Team in Training. However, I'm the one who feels like I'm taking from others. It's true. I feel guilty because sometimes I feel like I'm "getting" more than I'm "giving."

What do I mean? Well, my Saturday morning experience is a perfect example.

First, I was able to run with Rick for part (a very small part) of his crazy-long run. Made my day..

Rick continued on his run while I met my TNT buddies at the Direct Buy lot for some riding. After a quick change into some warmer clothes, we headed out on an easy ride. Two members of our team are quite new to cycling, so we mainly rode around WC - working on shifting and getting comfie on the bike. There still is a lot of debris on the road from winter weather, so we weren't too surprised when team member Allen had a flat (his son, a leukemia survivor, is one of our patient honorees). While we were dealing with that, I was very happy to see Deanna and Kate O gearing up for a winter ride. I introduced DB and KO (great supporters of the cause) to my TNT peeps.
Nice people meeting nice people - get it?

Coach Susan A and I had to cut the ride short to hustle over to Endorphin (who graciously opened their doors for TNT) for a TNT recruitment meeting. Lots of great events up and coming this summer!

Meanwhile, after realizing that I only have $400.00 left to raise (and several months to do so), I've upped my fundraising goal to $2,000. We'll see how creative I can be with my fundraising ideas.

Thanks to Kathleen M and William T for their donations. Your generosity inspired me to work harder to fight cancer.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

I don't have much to report about my training. I'm just plugging away - trying to balance work, exercise, friends, and family (basically just doing what we all try to do).

Meanwhile, my fundraising for the I Love the Tavern triathlon continues to progress quite nicely. I am now at 65% of my minimum goal. Woohoo! Thank you to my sister Siobhan (I know - isn't that a cool name?), my college buddy Karin, and the ever generous Kate O. Hugs to you and your families!

On a related note, I scored a great gift certificate to Cafe Caturra at last week's silent auction for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I also like to include drinking yummy wine as part of my balancing act. I am fairly skilled in that area.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

I'm at 50% of my fundraising goal for the triathlon - in one week! How great are my friends and family (particularly SanDee J & Greggy-baby, Lynnie-Lou and the Darbalicous)?

VERY

I also (finally) took a little spin outside in this (relatively) warm weather. I met my friend Nicole at West Creek. She is brand-spankin' new to the world of cycling. And, of course, being an overachieving kind-of-lady, she decided to tackle a century ride (Lake Tahoe) as part of Team in Training. Yup - she's learning a new sport AND raising money to fight cancer at the same time (FYI: You aren't the only one she makes feel like a bit of a loser - but she's so darn sweet and cute, you can't help but like her).

So...it was below 50 degrees (my usual limit) and I still felt happy and warm on my bike. Hmmm...does this mean I might learn to like winter riding?

Thursday, January 14, 2010

That's the word that pops into my head as I witness the amazing generosity of my friends and family. I've now raised 37% of my goal with the help of Sarah and Tim, and Chuck, Ally, Sam, Ben & Thomas.

I don't mean to sound completely corny, but I do get a little teary when I think how lucky I am.

However, I must point out that Chuck (my oldest brother) wasn't always so nice. Yes, he did torture me as only a big brother can to a little sister. Case in point: When we played our wiffle (spelling?) ball games in the backyard, I was assigned the role of permanent outfielder. My brother Matt was part of this little scheme as well. They also made up little songs about me (to the tune of "These are a few of my favorite things") that pointed out all my quirks. My father liked to think of these events as "character-building."

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

I'm feeling so energized by my work with Team in Training. In four days of fundraising, I've raised 17% of my goal. That's a reflection on the the kindness and generosity of my friends and family. Huge thanks to Mike R., Matt & Deb, Rick S., Denise W. and DB. I couldn't do it without you!
Tomorrow night, I hope to make it to the Team in Training silent auction at BlackFinn restaurant (after class, that is). All proceeds go directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Join me!

And yes, I am happily training for I Love the Tavern - and hopefully a few other sprint distance triathlons. My knees, although they get cranky, seem to be handling the activity well. I can tell you that I am one grateful triathlete.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Please remember that every single donation matters. If you can only give a dollar, it's still so appreciated. Think about it this way, if 50 people give $1.00 each, we are $50.00 closer to curing cancer.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

It's official!
One of our fantastic local sprint triathlons, I Love the Tavern,is going to be one of the summer Team in Training events.
I plan to sign on as a fundraising team member asap. Since this is a local race with no travel expenses, basically all the money I raise will go directly to fighting blood cancers. How great is that?
A short list of the people I'm doing this for include...
My cycling buddy Paul, my cycling buddy Allen's son, Denver, my TNT buddies Art and Ed, and Rick's sister, Billie.
I'm (sadly) doing this in memory of several lost fathers, including Jan's, Susan Ann's, Favey's and Rick's.
And - in case you were wondering, several of the medical breakthroughs funded by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (who oversees Team in Training) have helped to heal other kinds of cancers, too.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

I used to be a resolution-maker, but I'm a little wary of making grand proclamations of what I will (or will not) do. Suffice it to say that I'm looking at 2010 with plenty of hope and excitement. The new year certainly started well - or maybe it's the old year ended well? Whatever the case, it was a lovely holiday season. Highlights include:

*a very quiet, simple Christmas morning mass in NH with my extraordinary mother (the rest of the family was in transit home). My mother is quite possibly the most giving, thoughtful human being I know (and I know many good people).

*sharing the holidays and my family with Rick. He introduced my family to southern bourbon and they shared some ridiculous stories about me with him. (Wait a minute - I'm not sure these things qualify as highlights).

*a post-Christmas run through and up and down and around my hometown with Rick. (5.5 very hilly miles - and my knees handled it nicely!) At one point, I looked over at Rick and said, "Look honey, we're running together again." He smiled and said, "That's just what I was thinking." That was my best present of all. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that all remains well with the fragile knees this year.

Yesterday, I settled back into a non-holiday routine with time spent at work and working out. Despite being less than excited about heading back to work, it sure felt nice to be back at U of R. And, my workouts at EF continue to challenge and motivate me. At one point, Karen, Rick and I were about to pass out from fatigue from one of the drills - while laughing so hard at the same time. I think I gasped something like, "Stop making me laugh - I can not breathe."